Leighton Denny Expert Nails Colour & Care Nail Polish 12ml Leighton Denny Nail colour in Hanky Panky, a true orange shade. I love nail polish and was very excited to see Leighton Denny’s name on the card, but I’m a little disappointed at the shade. I have orange nail polish and don’t find it very wearable. I tested it on one nail, the quality is very good and the colour very opaque, no need for three coats with this one. I would have been happier with the baby pink or blue though. Full size product worth £11.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeline in Moray Another full size product, worth £13. I love Stila and have high hopes for this little stick. A lovely olive shade with golden flecks – can’t wait to try it.

Robert Piguet Eau de Parfums Fracas de Robert Piquet, Visa de Robert Piguet and Calypso de Robert Piguet are three signature scents from the ‘most Parisian of fashion designers’.

And the sixth, bonus gift Dermalogica Renewal Lip Complex 1ml with a handy little bag to keep all your new Dermalogica gifts safe. A daily treatment that restores the delicate lip tissue. Full size 1.75ml product retails for £22.50, so this mini version is worth £12.85

I think this is a really good box – a perfect mix of make up, skin care and fragrance. I’m very excited to try the Dermalogica products and the Stila liner, and as ever, I’ll let you know my thoughts.

Shade 8 – I’m still really annoyed that they didn’t come up with sexier names like Mossy Mauve – is a muted pink. I went to a ball at the weekend sporting plum smoky eyes. I didn’t want to clash with bold lips so opted for this soft pink and it worked really well.

As with shade 5, it’s soft, moisturising and velvetty. It’s long lasting and smells gorgeous.

Shades 1,2,3,4,5,8,12

At £5.49 they represent really great value and are now available, 3 for 2, at both Boots and Superdrug stores in the UK.

Another new kid on the block! LOOK Magazine announced last week that they are launching their first beauty range. I think this is a brilliant idea and I’m surprised someone hasn’t beaten them to it. I picked up a few samples at the show last month and wanted to share my pics, and thoughts.

It’s a pretty comprehensive range with everything you’d expect – foundations, primers, blushers and more. For me the stand out product is the Double Hit Lip – lipstick at one end and gloss at the other. The shade I received is an orangey coral, which looks quite scary but is actually quite sheer.

The texture of the lipstick is nice, more like a balm and the lipgloss smells divine. These were used to achieve the very on trend bold pouts at the recent LOOK catwalk show (see the pics here). I’d be keen to try the red for a buildable crimson pout, with optional gloss finish.

As for the Statement Eyes shadows £4 each, again, not the best shades for me, but the textures are nice. Quite silky and satin-like.

I’d like to try their metallic shades – Lame and Luxe were used on the models in the show.

Other stand out products include the Ooomph Lashes mascara £7 and Holiday Glow highlighting Powder £8.

Available exclusively in Superdrug stores later this month. A donation from every product sold goes to cancer support charity Look Good… Feel Better.

It’s hard to keep up with all the new make up brands hitting the high street. We’ve had Sleek, MUA, Accessorize, VIVO, the upcoming LOOK magazine cosmetics and the much anticipated, not to be missed FashionistA Range.

FashionistA cosmetics, launch in Superdrug at the end of September, include everything you’d expect from a good high street brand, and more. Their stand out products are the Custom Design Palettes, which are empty palettes that you can fill with a mixture of 4 eye shadows or blushers (Frontcover do something similar, which I love but theirs are limited to eyeshadows). With a huge 49 eye shadows and 12 blushers to choose from, you can really design a palette that suits you. Set to retail for £12 for the palette and 4 shadows/blushers.

And if that wasn’t enough, they also have the Magnetism nail polish range with The Saturdays coming out at the end of October.

Each Saturday has their own shade and will retail for a reasonable £6 for the polish and £3 for the magnet. Frankie’s is a silver shade, Mollie’s is a metallic pinky purple, Rochelle’s is a metallic red, Una’s is a metallic forest green and Vanessa’s is a sort of smoky metallic grey magnetic polish.

Of all the budget brands I’ve never tried Collection 2000 or The Natural Collection. If truth be told I probably dismissed them based on the price, but when my little sister picked up these treats at the weekend I was intrigued to test them out.

Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Crimson £1.99

If I was blind testing this I would never have expected it to be a cheap lipstick. Don’t be fooled by the bland packaging, it’s very creamy and moisturizing – easy to apply straight from the bullet and can be layered up to achieve more intense colour. As for the shade, I struggle with reds – blue based ones don’t suit me much, I tend to go for orange/coral reds or slightly pinker reds. This, I’d describe as a universally flattering cherry red. It didn’t last as long as other red lipsticks I’ve tried, but equally it didn’t stain my lips. Overall I really liked this lipstick and it shows I should be more open minded – cheap doesn’t always equal substandard.

Natural Collection Pressed Powder £1.99

I couldn’t fully road test this as the shade is too pale for me, but my sister liked it and said it doesn’t what it says on the tin – reduces shine and gives a matte finish where it’s needed. She wore it all day and it didn’t go patchy pr dry the skin out. It’s a light, soft powder, which used sparingly can control shine, or used all over can give a matte finish. My only criticism would be the lack of shades. There’s only three, and this was the darkest, which is still quite light.

Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fast Dry Shimmy Shake £1.79 8ml

This is spectacular – I can’t believe the price tag! She opted for Shimmy Shake – a sparkly yellowy gold. I’m dubious when it comes to glitter polishes, they’re often too sheer and can take many layers to achieve the bottle colour. This one applied like a dream. I loved the formula – not too runny, not too glupey. It dried really fast and needed just two coats and unlike the natural collection, came in a vast range of shades.

Tesco, is there anything they don’t sell? Ok I know they already do make up in the form of Barbara Daly, but I’m sorry it’s a bit dull and does anyone actually buy it? Their new and exclusive make up range VIVO celebrates being “Alive with Colour” and looks set to rival other budget brands like MUA and Sleek, who give us great, on-trend products at affordable prices.

The VIVO range will start at a very affordable £1.50 offering the staples – foundation, mascara and lipgloss etc, as well as bronzer/highlighter duos, brow kits and false eye lashes. There are also some gorgeous eye and cheek palettes containing domed and marble affect blushers and eyeshadows set to retail around £6!

To be honest I don’t think I need anymore distractions when I’m trying to do my weekly shop, I already spend half an hour in the magazine aisle and have to be dragged away from F&F and now, like a bee to honey I’ll be drawn, actually sucked in, to the make up isle.

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beauty & le chic

Caked

I’m a self confessed make up addict. I love to try it, apply it, wearing it and buy it! If, like me, you love to test new products, experiment with trends, track down the best deals and stalk celebrity style, then you’ll love CAKED.